Terabithia
The most obvious use of imagery in the film are the native inhabitants of Terabithia itself. While based on actual native flora and fauna, they transform within the imagination of Leslie and Jess into the realm of allegory. It may help to consult a kind of guide at times to make sense of the imagery for some, but among the most significant are: Troll-like creature = Janice, the female bully at school Squirrel-like creature named Sqoager = male bully named Hoager. These and other assorted people and animals that Leslie and Jess know from the real world are incorporated in symbolic form into allegorical counterparts within their invented world. This imagery is also quite significant due to the way it departs from the book the film was based upon. Those who know the story only from the film are likely to be shocked at just how little actual description of the interior life of Terabithia is found in the book. Of course, this change is heavily influenced by the fact that film is a visual medium whereas each reader is afforded the opportunity to imagine for herself what Terabithia actually looks like.
Gender
The story is about friendship, not romance, even though it features a young male and female couple at its center. Imagery is utilized throughout to make the connection that the story is universal and crosses gender lines at every point. The biggest bully at school is a girl. Jess and Leslie are both historically gender-neutral names which have been applied freely to those of both sexes. Jess must run a face wearing girl’s shoes whereas Jess feels it imperative to inform Leslie that a dress is required attire for girls at church.
Foreshadowing
The unexpected—even shocking—tragedy which occurs toward the final parts of the story is foreshadowed several times in the film. The most obvious is the apprehension that Jess expresses toward trusting the rope swing compared to the sheer gusto and exuberant lust for life with which Leslie embraces the opportunity afforded by this discovery. The most disturbing, perhaps, is the fear expressed by Jess’ little sister that Leslie is going to be damned to hell when she dies because she doesn’t embrace organized Christianity.
"Dead Meat"
Believe it or not, but the phrase “dead meat” is voiced in the film more often than the word “Terabithia.” In fact, it’s not even close: dead meat recurs around 30% more often than the name of the magical world of imagination. Most of those repetitions are directed specifically and exclusively toward Jess by just one specific individual: the grenade waiting to explode known as Fulcher. This could be viewed as another example of foreshadowing imagery except that it is ultimately ironic in a sense because it is not Jess who winds up dead. Of course, another way of looking at it is irony in another sense: Fulcher is dead meat from the neck up.
